State of the media report July - Dec 2022 3.7 THE CLASH BETWEEN MEDIA RIGHTS AND STATE INTERESTS Knowledge of laws that protect journalists work Did they complain to anybody to seek redress about police behaviour Police Knowledge of Media Work Laws used to detain journalists Innocent Phiri Yes Yes No No Obstruction of Police Detained Obvious Kapunda Yes No No No Obstruction of Police Detained Alphas Kaputula Yes No No No Unlawful Assembly Detained Josphat Mafuta Yes Not sure No No Unlawful Assembly Detained Agness Kapansa No Not sure No No Unlawful Assembly Detained Baxter Mutambo No Not sure No No Unlawful Assembly Detained Moses Makwaya No Not sure No No Unlawful Assembly Detained Affected Journalists Were journalists Arrested or Detained? Knowledge of Law Used to Arrest/ Detain them Summary of Findings The period under review recorded seven (7) cases of media personnel being detained in police custody for coverings news were police were also conducting operations. The first reported case was recorded 16th September 2022 involving five (5) journalists from Kalemba, Muvi TV, M28 and KBN and the second case was on 14th November involving two Muvi TV personnel in Lusaka Innocent Phiri, a journalist and Obvious Kapunda a camera person. Below are the accounts of each media personnel who was detained for reporting stories were police interfered with their work:. Innocent Phiri, a 32 year old journalist with 9 years’ experience in the journalism industry and works for private media Muvi Television Lusaka and he is one of the journalists who clashed with police in his line of work in November 2022. “I felt the detention was illegal because despite identifying ourselves to the police by producing our work Identity Cards, we were locked up in detention for doing our jobs”, he said. And when further asked whether the detention affected him personally he said it not have any personal effect on him, however when asked how the detention affected his work, the responded said “I was not able to report news which was of public interest that evening because my rights as a journalist were infringed upon by the police” he said. In answering the question regarding how the police should facilitate media freedom in times of protests in future the respondent said: ”The police must be able to understand and appreciate the work that journalists do and be able to create a safe environment” When asked if he identified himself with the police, the respondent said he did that immediately he 22